Shingle stacker



March 26, 1963 Filed Nov. 24, 1958 G. H. WlLLlAMSON SHINGLE STACKER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. GEORGE H.WILLIAMSON ATTORNEY March 26, 1963 Filed NOV. 24, 1958 G. H. WILLIAMSON SHINGLE STACKER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

GEORGE 'HLWILLIAMSON ATTORNEY March 26, 1963 G. H. WILLIAMSON SHINGLE STACKER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 24, 1958 *1 n KT 1 T I I 1 n n 11 wm t hm illfml: 1. mm 2 I I 1 1 I I I I 1 I 1 I i 1 1 l I I E aw M? Na ATTORNEY March 26, 1963 G. H. WILLIAMSON 3,082,885

SHINGLE STACKER Filed Nov. 24, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. GEORGE H.W||.|.|AMSON ATTORNEY 3,tl82,8$ SHlNGLE dTACKZER George H. Williamson, Sonierville, Ni, assignor to Johns-lianville Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corpartition of New Yuri;

Filed Nov. 24, 1958, Ser. No. 775,932 3 Claims. (Cl. 214-65) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for stacking individual articles of manufacture received from a high speed fabrication'line, and, more specifically, it relates to a method and apparatus for stacking flat, planar type articles, such as, roofing shingles and siding shingles, and the like.

Articles of manufacture, such as roofing and siding shingles and the like, are ordinarily fabricated at high production rates. The individual shingles at the output end of the fabrication lines are gathered individually by a workman and amassed to the proper height. After a bundle of such shingles has been accumulated, it is transferred to a conveyor where a wrapper is placed around the bundle; fasteners are then placed around or on the bundle to contain the bundle and to secure the Wrapper to the bundle.

The shingles are received at the outward end of the fabrication line typically at the rate of approximately 120 shingles per minute, or roughly 2 shingles per second; this high rate of production requires any form of additional mechanism to be used in conjunction with the fabrication line to be substantially instantaneously responsive. Further complications may arise because of a change in the design of the shingle or because of a change in the mam factoring and packaging techniques of such shingles. Thus, for example, the length or the width of the shingle or both are changed periodically because of improvements in such shingles, or such changes may be dictated by the design tastes of the buying public. An example of changes in manufacturing techniques is the addition of a sealing strip to the shingles, for example, to the backs of the shingles, which necessitates a change in the packaging arrangement of the shingles. With the addition of such a sealing strip, the shingles are in accordance with one commercial procedure, arranged in such a manner that the sealing strip on one shingle faces the sealing strip on the adjacent shingle as they are paired and packaged back to back, rather than face to back, the pairs being arranged face to face in the bundles. This requires the addition of reversing and pairing mechanism so that the spacing between the conveyed shingles is altered, aud instead of having an output of approximately 120 individual shingles per minute, the output is changed to approximately 60 paired shingles per minute. With such change in manufacturing technique, any automatic mechanism specifically designed and set for the high production rate of 120 shingles per minute would ordinarily be out of kilter with the slower output rates.

With a change in the design of the shingles, as, for example, a change in the length or the width of the shingle, automatic mechanism designed to accommodate a specific type of existing shingle would also be rendered useless by such a change.

Another complication arising in the packaging or stacking of such shingles is the fact that one edge or side of the shingle is usually much thicker than the opposite edge or side. Thus, the side, commonly termed the butt or exposed side, is built up to a greater thickness than the head or unexposed side, so that when the shingles are to be packaged into a single bundle, periodical reversal of the shingles must be made in order to obtain a rectangular bundle. If the butt edges were to be superimposed upon each other, a bundle stacked in this manner would be asst-ass Patented Mar. 25, 1963 trapezoidal in form since the stack of shingles at the butt edges would be much thicker than the stack of shingles at the head or trailing edges.

An object of this invention therefore is to provide a method and apparatus for stacking articles of manufacture, such as, roofing shingles, siding shingles, and the like, wherein variable speeds and variable spacings in the production line are compensated for automatically.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus which is adaptable for stacking most common shingles in use to day regardless of common deviations in size, shape or thickness.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a novel method and apparatus for stacking articles of manufacture, such as roofing shingles, siding shingles, and the like, which compensate for the differences in thickness existing in shingles to produce a stack of shingles which is approximately rectangular in shape.

In brief, the invention comprises a compartmented ferris wheel or paddle wheel type of construction at the end of a shingle fabrication line so that the shingles being produced by the line are received within the compartments in the ferris wheel or paddle wheel construction. The wheel construction is rotated at the proper speed and indexed at the proper position to place successive compartments in a shingle receiving condition. The compartments containing shingles are rotated to a point where such accumulated shingles drop by gravity to an accumulator or collector pan where they are amassed to the proper height. Within the pan is located a deflecting mechanism which deflects the butt edges of the shingles, so that they are received in the pan alternately adjacent one side of the pan and then adjacent the opposite side of the pan; in this way, a stack of bundles is amassed within the pan wherein alternate butt and head edges are on one side of the stack of shingles. The stack, when removed from the accumulator pan, is approximately rectangular in form thereby producing a neat, approximately rectangular bundle.

These and other objects will be readily apparent from the preceding description and the following more detailed description and attached drawings wherein:

1G. 1 is a view in side elevation of the apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view in elevation of the ferris or paddle wheel construction, certain of the parts being shown in cross section;

FIG. 3 is a view in elevation of the accumulator or collector pan;

FIG. 4 is a detailed, partially cross sectional view of the drive mechanism for the ferris or paddle wheel construction; and

FIG. 5 is a view in elevation of a portion of the drive mechanism depicted in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conveyor system 1 transports a plurality of articles of manufacture 2 in a continuous stream from a fabrication system (not shown). The articles 2 conveyed by the conveyor system of the fiat planar type, as, for example, roofing or siding shingles; however, the invention is adaptable to numerous other types of planar articles, Whether flexible or inflexible, and the term shingles will be used generically hereinafter to denote this class of materials. A ferris or paddle wheel construction 3 is positioned adjacent the conveyor system 1 so that the shingles enter the wheel construction from an end thereof. The fernis or paddle wheel 3 comprises a cylindrical hub 4 having at its ends a pair of end caps 5; the caps are mounted to aligned stub shafts 6, a: via bearing 9 and sleeve 90?.

One of the stub shafts 6 is fixedly mounted to a support 7 via bearing 96 and rotatably supports the adjacent end of the ferris or paddle wheel 3, while the opposite aligned stub shaft 6a is fixedly secured to sleeve 9 1 which is secured to its adjacent end cap 5. The shaft 6a is supported by bearings and rotated by mechanism, here-inafter described, thereby supporting the adjacent end of the ferris Wheel 3 and also imparting rotation, at the proper timed sequence, thereto.

Radiating from the periphery or outer cylindrical wall of hub 4 are a plurality of plates 19' commonly secured to each other by an end plate 11; the opposite end is not secured by a plate as this end receives the shingles from the conveyor system 1 and must be left open. Plates are secured to the 'hub' 4- in any convenient manner, as, for example, by welding, and are positioned approximately 30 apart to provide three compartments 8 within each quadrant or a total of twelve compartments 8 radiating from hub 4. It is evident, however, that the size and number of such compartments may be altered to accommodate different manufacturing conditions merely by changing the number of plates 10 and the angle between the adjacent radiating plates.

Secured to the frame or base support (not shown) at the outer periphery of the circle formed by the free ends or tips of the plates 10 is a peripheral retainer 12 having a gap 12a therein. The retainer 12 is located with respect to the tips of the plates 10 so that the plates may rotate by a retainer without rubbing or hitting there- ;against; gap 12:: is located at the nadir of the fern's or paddle wheel construction so that the shingles retained within the compartments 8 drop through the gap after such compartments pass thereby. The retainer covers approximately 180 of the ferris or paddle wheel since it is only necessary to retain the shingles from theho'rizontal receiving position to the nadir dropping position. Therefore, theoretically, only 90 of retainer is required; however, to insure that no shinglessare thrown out on the plant floor in the event one of the shingles does not pass through gap 12a, the retainer is extended around the wheel an additional 90.

Adjacent the stub shaft 6a is mounted a drive and indexing mechanism necessary to rotate the paddle or ferris wheel construction properly and also to index such construction in order that the compartments 8 are properly halted adjacent the conveyor system 1 to receive the shingles 2 therein. The mechanism comprises a housing or casing 13 (FIGS. 4 and 5) adjacent one end of shaft 6a and having mounted thereto stub shaft journals 9:: retained in their proper positions by a pair of thrust bearings 9b; the housing 13 is secured to a base support in any conventional manner (not shown). A pair of mating gears 14, 15 are located within the housing 13 and have attached thereto cam plates 16, 17 respectively; plate 16 has on the periphery thereof a plurality of crescent shaped cutouts or recesses 16a while plate 17 has extending from a portion of its outer periphery a crescent shaped locking cam 17a, arranged to nest in a recess 16a when rotated to a proper position relative thereto. Gear 14 has a plurality of gear teeth 14a on its periphery in a continuous and uninterrupted manner; gear 15, however, has only a small number of continuous gear teeth 15a on its periphery, extending over only a portion of its circumference and meshing with gear teeth 14a when rotated to a proper position relative thereto. In the particular construction illustrated, four gear teeth 15a were utilized toprovide the amount of rotation and the type of indexing desired. Gear 15 and plate cam 17, secured to each other, are also commonly secured to a shaft 18 rotatably supported within the'casing -13 by journals 19; gear .14 and plate 16 are commonly secured to the stub shaft 6a. Ball bearing thrust flanges 20 retain the shaft 18 and journals 19 in a fixed transverse position relative to the casing 13. Sprocket 2-1 is keyed to the shaft 13 atone end thereof and is operatively connected to a second sprocket 23, mounted on a rotatable shaft 24, by a sprocket chain 22. The latter shaft is properly jourpaled in supports and also has mounted therein a single revolution clutch 26; an additional sprocket 27 is operatively connected to the input side of clutch 26. Sprocket 27 is connected to a drive motor as, via chain 28 and sprocket 29 mounted on the drive motor shaft 352a. In transmitting rotary motion from the drive motor 30 to shaft 6a, sprocket 27 is rotated by sprocket 2? via the chain drive 28; the clutch 26 is automatically engaged to provide a single revolution before disengaging. This single revolution is transferred to shaft 24, sprocket 23, chain drive 22, sprocket 21 and shaft 18. With rotation of shaft 18, gear 15 and cam plate 17 are also rotated. Plate 17 is rotated to a point Where the locking cam 17a frees itself from an adjacent recess 16a thereby unlocking gear 14 and plate 16; at this time, teeth 15a mesh with teeth 14a to provide an angular rotation or incrementing of gear 14. Since only several teeth 15a are located on the periphery of gear 15, the degree of angular rotation of gear 14 is dictated by this number of teeth. In the particular construction illustrated, teeth 15a produce a 30 rotation of gear 14 and also of attached, shaft 611. After teeth 14a and 15a are out of engagement, 2. portion of locking cam 17a enters one of the recesses 16a to provide a positive lock for the gear 14 and shaft 6a. This positive locking arrangement also prevents any slight inertial tendencies of the gear 14 and shaft 6 to continue rotating.

Located beneath the opening 1.2a of the ferris or paddle wheel construction 3 is a hopper, collector, or accumulator pan 31. The pan (FIGS. 1 and 3) comprises a plurality of side plates 33 and a pair of end plates 34- secured to the frame structure 32. The plates are joined together to form a rectangular receptacle open at the top and at the bottom. Adjacent the open bottom of the accumulator are moy-ably supported a pair of L- shaped brackets 35, each of which has a plate 36 secured to one leg thereof; the plates are positioned in such a manner that they become a movable floor or bottom for the side and end plates 33, 34. On one end of the panel, an ear 37 is welded within the bight of one of the brackets and bell crank levers 3?, 39a are secured to the upright legs of the brackets; the bell cranks are mounted in pairs to add rigidity and to prevent cocking and subsequent binding of the attached movable parts. The pivot shafts 40, at the mid point of the bell crank levers, are secured in any convenient manner to cross bars 41. On one side of the pan 31 (FIG. 1), the upper free ends of the pair of levers 39 are connected to a fluid motor 44 ofthe reciprocating type via actuating rod 43 and connect-ing pin 42; the free ends of the other pair of bell cr-ank levers 39a are connected to ear 37 via connecting link and pins 33, 420. On the opposite side of the pan 31, the bell cranks 39 are omitted, as a single motor 44 is sufficient to provide the type of actuation required. The bell cranks 3% on this opposite side are mounted and interconnected to a similar ear 37 in the manner described. With this construction, simultaneous pivotal action of both brackets 35 and floor plates 36 is obtained about the pivot pins 49 attached to the bell crank levers. Thus, when motor 44 is actuated, reciprocating rod 43 is moved towards the motor, and it simultaneously moves the upper portion of the attached pair of bell crank levers 39 toward the accumulator pan construction. Since one of the brackets 35 is secured to the opposite ends of the ell crank levers 39, this bracket 35 and attached plate 36 are rotated away from and free of the accumulator pan construction; with this outward movement, links 45 pull the upper portions of the opposite pairs of hell crank levers 39a toward the accumulator pan thereby also rotating their attached bracket 35 and associated floor plate 36 away from the accumulator. In this manner, the two brackets 35 and associated 'floor plates 36 are operated in unison and are freed from the accumulators sides 33 at approximately the same thnev Adjacent the upper portion of the accumulator, a do flector 46 is secured to the frame structure to deflect the shingles in a predetermined manner as they enter the accumulator pan 31 from the ferris or paddle wheel construction 3. The deflector 46 of the accumulator comprises a frame structure 47 having mounted thereon in any convenient manner a pair of shaft supports 48. Shaft 49 extends the length of the accumulator and is properly journaled in a conventional manner in the supports 48. Deflector plates 51 and 52 straddle the shaft 49 at their approximate midpoints and are secured to each other adjacent their tips to form an inverted V-type valve. One end of the shaft 49 is received in a link bushing 53, which is of the split nut type, and securely fastened thereto by a fastener 54; the end of the link 53 is secured to a fluid motor 57 via an actuating rod 56 and a connecting pin 55.

The motors 44 and 57 are secured to the frame structure at one end of each of the motors by connecting pins 53 and 44a respectively. Located directly beneath the accumulator is a conveyor system 59 of a conventional type which transports the amassed stack of bundles dropped from the accumulator to an additional stage of the fabrication line, as, for example, the wrapping and tying stage of the stack of shingles.

Motors 44 and 57 may be actuated by any common form of counter or electric eye mechanism. Such mech anism may be located adjacent the deflector shaft 49 or may be located adjacent the outlet 12a or may be situated adjacent the accumulator sides 33. In the particular construction illustrated, an electric eye actuating system 69 is located adjacent the opening 12a to be actuated by the passing of the shingles into the deflector mechanism. The actuating mechanism 60, in turn, is operatively connected to electrical actuators 61 and 62 located on motor-s 4-4 and 57 respectively. The actuators 61 and 62 used are of such a type that actuator 61 places motor 44 into operation or actuation after a predetermined number of compartments have been emptied or, in other words, after a predetermined number of small stacks of shingles within each compartment has passed by the deflector plates 51, 52. Actuator 62, on the other hand, is set so that it is actuated or deactivated at each impulse received by the electric eye mechanism 69; in this manner, motor 57, after a compartment has been emptied, actuates shaft 49 and deflector plate 51, 52 to place such plates in the opposite deflecting position. Thus, as the compartments are serially being emptied, the shingles are first directed towards one side of the accumulator pan according to the position of the plates 51, 52 and then towards the opposite side of the pan by the repositioning of the plates. In this way, the difference in the thickness of the shingle, that is to say, the difference, for example, between the thickness of the butt edge of the shingle with respect to the trailing edge, is always compensated for.

In the operation of the system, conveyor system 1 transports thereon shingles at the rate of approximately 120- 130 per minute if the shingles are unpaired, or at the rate of 6070 shingles per minute if the shingles are paired. Regardless of the production rate, a loading compartment 8a of the ferris wheel 3 is always placed adjacent the output of the conveyor system 1 to be in a shingle receiving position. Differences in output production rates are automatically compensated for since the wheel 3 is rotated to place a compartment 8 for the highest production rate. If the shingle rate were to be reduced to, say, 90 shingles per minute, a compartment 8 would always be properly positioned adjacent the output of conveyor 1 to receive a predetermined number of shingles therein. In the construction illustrated, rotation of the paddle wheel construction does not occur until after at least 2 or 3 shingles enter a compartment; in the case of paired shingles, the timing may be adjusted so that the paddle wheel construction 3 does not rotate until at least 4 or 6 shingles have entered a compartment 8.

However, this timing arrangement may be altered so that more or fewer shingles enter a compartment before rotation of such a compartment out of shingle receiving position.

After an adjacent compartment has received a predetermined number of shingles from the conveyor system 1, motor 30 is actuated (FIGS. 4 and 5) as by an electric eye system on the conveyor line 1, to rotate shaft 24 via clutching arrangement 26 thereby to impart one complete revolution to the shaft. One revolution is likewise imparted to shaft 18 via sprockets 23, 21 and sprocket chain 22, which shaft, in turn, rotates cam plate 17 to release cam plate 16 and to cause gear teeth 15a to mesh with gear teeth 14a and also to impart to the gear v14 a small angular rotation depending on the number of teeth 15a. This angular rotation is likewise im parted to shaft on and subsequently to the paddle wheel construction 3 to place the next adjacent compartment 8 in a shingle receiving position. As heretofore noted, locking cam 17:: re-engages one of the recesses 16a to bat further rotation of shaft 6a. The wheel 3 is thusly positioned, rotated, and indexed until 3 or 4 compartments are filled with or have shingles therein. Retainer '12 (referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) prevents the shingles from falling out of the compartments until gap 12a is reached. When a shingle or a small stack of shingles are placed adjacent the opening 12a, they drop by gravity sliding past the deflector plates 51, 52. If the plates are positioned in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1, the shingles 2 pass with their leading edges directed towards the left hand side of the accumulator; electric eye 60 is actuated thereby also actuating actuator 62 and fluid motor 57. Shaft 49 is rotated to place the plates 51, 52 on the opposite side of opening 12a via link 53, pin 55, and fluid motor actuating rod 56. The next compartment is emptied in a similar manner' except that the leading edges of the shingles are directed towards the right hand side of the accumulator or collector 31. The shingles are amassed in this manner in the accumulator, alternately being directed from one side of the accumulator to the opposite side and, if the leading edge is the thick or butt edge of the shingle, this thick edge is alternately directed from one side of the pan to the opposite side. After the predetermined number of shingles have been accumulated in the accumulator 31 or after a predetermined number of actuations of electric eye 6%), actuator 61 is operated to place into operator fluid motor 44. Plunger 43 is retracted and the bell crank levers 39, 39a are rotated about their pivots 40 to rotate floor plates 36 away from the accumulator. Since the means of support for the stack of shingles has been removed, the stack within the accumulator drops by gravity to the conveyor system 59 directly underneath. The stack is then transported to another stage of the fabrication system.

From the above description, it is evident that changes in the particular type of shingle or article manufactured do not affect the operation of the stacking unit. Thus, for example, if the shingle design were altered, say, to a triangular type shingle in cross-section, the alternate placement of the shingle or small groups of shingles within the pan 3 1 automatically compensates for the differences in thickness to produce ultimately a bundle, rectangular in cross-section. If, on the other hand, the size of the shingle were to be altered in any Way, this does not aifect the operationof the unit as the shingles are located within the compartments, relative to each other, in the same position, so that proper superimposed stacking occurs within the pan at all times.

Having thus described my invention in rather full detail, it will be understood that the details given herein are for the purpose of illustration, not restriction, and that variations within the spirit of the invention are intended to be included in the scope of the appended claims.

' in an approximately continuous stream, a hub, means for forming a plurality of compartments circumferentially positioned around said hub, means to index said compartments adjacent the output of the conveyor system so that at least one shingle may be deposited Within each indexed compartment, an accumulator, means to transfer the shingles from the compartments into the accumulator, and means for causing the leading edges of shingles transferred to the accumulator from successive compartments to tho alternately positioned on opposite sides of said accumulator.

2. The stacking system of claim 1, wherein the altermating means comprises a guide valve which alters the angle of entry of alternate compartment contents into the accumulator.

3. A stacking system comprising a conveyor belt for conveying shingles thereon, a shingle accumulator, rotatably mounted compartment means for receiving shingles axially thereof from the conveyor belt and transferring small stacks of shingles to the accumulator, means adjacent the accumulator to alternate the relative positions of the butt portions of one stack relative to the butt portions of adjacent stacks so that the butt portions of one stack are sandwiched by the shingle head portions of adjacent stacks, a second conveyor belt, and means to deposit thereon the shingles amassed in the accumulator after a desired number of stacks have been accumulated therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 349,745 Rheutan Sept. 28, 1886 707,765 Elliot Aug. 26, 1902 1,153,294 Dunnebier Sept. 14, 1915 1,856,978 Terrey May 3, 1932 2,109,050 Quick Feb. 22, 1938 2,345,310 Willoughby Mar. 28, 1944 2,612,984 Alden Oct. 7, 1952 2,668,483 Sykes Feb. 9, 1954 2,761,361 Hornberger Sept. 4, 1956 2,788,118 Borrowdale Apr. 9, 1957 2,816,644 Ungerer Dec. 17, 1957 2,855,740 Noland et al Oct, 14, 1958 2,940,614 Carlsson June 14, 1960 

1. A STACKING SYSTEM FOR ASPHALT SHINGLES, AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING A CONVEYOR SYSTEM FOR CONVEYING SUCH SHINGLES IN AN APPROXIMATELY CONTINUOUS STREAM, A HUB, MEANS FOR FORMING A PLURALITY OF COMPARTMENTS CIRCUMFERENTIALLY POSITIONED AROUND SAID HUB, MEANS TO INDEX SAID COMPARTMENTS ADJACENT THE OUTPUT OF THE CONVEYOR SYSTEM SO THAT AT LEAST ONE SHINGLE MAY BE DEPOSITED WITHIN EACH INDEXED COMPARTMENT, AN ACCUMULATOR, MEANS TO TRANSFER THE SHINGLES FROM THE COMPARTMENTS INTO THE ACCUMULATOR, AND MEANS FOR CAUSING THE LEADING EDGES OF SHINGLES TRANSFERRED TO THE ACCUMULATOR FROM SUCCESSIVE COMPARTMENTS TO BE ALTERNATELY POSITIONED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID ACCUMULATOR. 